FIRST, KEEP BLOOD SUGAR FROM RISING TOO HIGH AFTER MEALS: When you eat, your blood sugar level rises. If it rises too high, sugar sticks to the surface of cells. Sugar, by itself, is harmless, but stuck on cell membranes, it is converted to a poison called sorbitol that causes heart attacks, strokes, blindness, deafness, kidney damage, burning foot syndrome and impotence. The key to treating diabetes is to prevent blood sugar levels from rising too high after meals.

It is far safer to have your blood sugar remain elevated slightly for a long time than to have blood sugar levels rise very high and return quickly to normal. Refined carbohydrates, such as bread, spaghetti, macaroni, bagels, cookies, crackers, rolls, refined grain cereals and white rice cause almost the same rise in blood sugar as a tablespoon of table sugar. To keep blood sugar levels from rising too high:

• Eat fruit and root vegetables (carrots, potatoes, beets, etc.) with meals, so other components of foods will slow down the absorption of sugar from the fruit.

• Eat WHOLE grains. They release their carbohydrates very slowly, and also help to suppress your appetite.

SECOND, USE AS LITTLE INSULIN AS POSSIBLE: Insulin is a bad hormone. It constricts arteries and causes heart attacks and strokes.(1) It makes you hungry all the time, causing you to overeat and become fat. It causes the liver to convert all extra calories to fat.

You want to keep blood sugar levels from rising too high after meals while taking as little insulin as possible. Glucophage helps you to do this because it prevents the liver from releasing sugar from liver cells into the bloodstream. Check with your doctor for your other options.

About the Author: Gabe Mirkin, MD

Sports medicine doctor, fitness guru and long-time radio host Gabe Mirkin, M.D., brings you news and tips for your healthful lifestyle. A practicing physician for more than 50 years and a radio talk show host for 25 years, Dr. Mirkin is a graduate of Harvard University and Baylor University College of Medicine. He is board-certified in four specialties: Sports Medicine, Allergy and Immunology, Pediatrics and Pediatric Immunology. The Dr. Mirkin Show, his call-in show on fitness and health, was syndicated in more than 120 cities.
Read More